by Claire Fogel
Kevin told him what Brandon had heard, and the principal just shook his head.
“Apparently, Ed Wilson has managed to do more damage despite being suspended. Chief O’Donnell told me he was going to speak to Officer Wilson, but perhaps I should call the Wilsons in for a conference. I’m sorry, Cara, I know you’ve been having a tough time. If there are any more problems, please come to me right away.”
I thanked him and we left his office doorway just as Amy ran in the main door. As soon as she got close enough, we could see she was upset. Neal was right behind her and he was frowning too.
“Where’s Sean? What’s happened?” I asked her.
“Cara, Sean’s in the hospital. When his dad didn’t show up to pick me up this morning, I called his house. I don’t know the details, but his mom told me he got into a fight with three guys after he left school yesterday. It was kind of late because of the counseling session, so Sean and Gabe walked home. I don’t know what the fight was about, but Sean and Gabe both got clobbered with a baseball bat one of the kids was carrying.”
Kevin looked at me. We knew what the fight was about, and we knew who started it.
“Amy, I think Kevin and I know what they were fighting about. We’ll explain later. But how badly were Sean and Gabe hurt?”
“According to Sean’s mom, Sean has a lump on his head, a lot of bruises, and his nose was broken again. She wasn’t sure about Gabe because he wouldn’t go to the hospital, but she thinks he’s in better shape than Sean.”
The bell rang and we all had to scurry to get to our first class. All I could do was get on my cell phone between classes and see what I could find out.
By lunchtime, all I’d learned was that Sean was being kept in the hospital because of the head injury. They also wanted a plastic surgeon to take a look at his nose, which had been broken quite badly. His mom didn’t know when he’d be released, but she’d seen him and said he’d call me as soon as he was allowed to use his phone.
When I tried to apologize, she stopped me. “Cara, I know who the responsible party is. My husband filled me in. It certainly isn’t you or your father who’s caused all this trouble. Sean’s more worried about you than he is about himself.”
I met Amy, Kevin, and our bodyguards in the lunchroom and told them what Sean’s mom had said. “I’m going to tell Mr. Weiss about this. He saw what happened outside school yesterday with that kid carrying a baseball bat. He needs to talk to Sean to verify who Sean and Gabe fought with, although there’s no question in my mind.” Kevin looked at me and nodded. “Yeah. No question at all.”
Then we had to fill in Amy and Neal about Ed Wilson and what he and his buddies had done yesterday. Amy said, “You think Wilson and his crew attacked Sean and Gabe, right?”
“Had to be them,” Kevin said. “I don’t believe in coincidence. Wilson would have knocked Cara down yesterday if Ryan and Patrick hadn’t stepped in. Mr. Weiss saw the whole thing and suspended Wilson, which must have really pissed him off. The attack on Sean happened later.” Then he told Amy about the rumor Wilson was spreading and where he was getting his information.
Amy frowned, shaking her head in disbelief. “When Weiss finds out about Sean, Wilson will be expelled. Suspension isn’t nearly enough for what he’s done. And another cop problem? Where did the Chief get these guys?”
Kevin said, “The Chief has only been the Chief for the past four years, when the old Chief retired. He inherited most of the men on the force. At least he can hire two good men now. Of course, I’m assuming that Officer Wilson will soon be history.”
The bell rang, and as we were leaving the lunchroom, I said, “I’ll see the Chief this afternoon. He’s coming over to talk to Mom and get her statement. I’ll let him know about Sean.”
Amy said, “Call me tonight.” I said I would and Kevin and I left for Art class with Ryan and Patrick. For the next hour, I didn’t think I’d be able to concentrate on Art.
When the last bell rang after PE, Ryan and I walked to the Principal’s office to retrieve my knives, but also to let him know what had happened to Sean.
I knocked on his door and he called, “Come in, Cara.” He took my knives out of his desk drawer and handed them to me. I thanked him and said, “I thought you should know that Sean McKay is in the hospital. I spoke to his mother and she said he got into a fight with three boys on his way home from the counseling session yesterday. One of the boys had a baseball bat.”
He nodded, his face troubled. “Mrs. McKay called me this morning to tell me Sean’s in the hospital. She doesn’t know when he’ll be coming back to school. And, Cara, I know what you’re thinking, but we don’t know for sure who Sean fought with, so I’d appreciate it if you’d keep this to yourself.”
I said I would. I tucked my knives into my boots and Ryan and I left. Kevin and Patrick were waiting for us in the entryway.
It was one of those beautiful Indian Summer days, very cool in the morning, but heating to the high seventies by lunch time. At three o’clock, it had cooled off a little but the air felt great and the familiar smell of falling autumn leaves surrounded us. It was one of my favorite times of the year.
I would have enjoyed the beautiful autumn day more as we walked to Kevin’s Jeep, but it was parked at the end of the block so we were hurrying. We didn’t manage to get to school early this morning so we didn’t get one of the coveted parking spaces right in front of the school’s entrance.
The Eastern edge of Blackthorne Forest lay directly across the street from the school. As we reached Kevin’s Jeep, I turned to say something to Kevin and felt something hard and sharp hit my face. When I put my hand up to my face, it was bloody.
Ryan was at my side and quickly turned me to face him. “You’re bleeding, lass. Quite a bit, actually.” Patrick pulled a towel out of his backpack and handed it to me. “Use this to put pressure on your forehead, Cara.” He dropped his backpack and said, “I’ll catch him,” and sprinted into the woods across the street.
Kevin unlocked the Jeep and herded me into the backseat. “Don’t worry about the blood. The seats are vinyl; it’ll come off.” My ever-practical best friend.
I realized that the small towel was now full of blood and it was running down my face and neck. The bleeding hadn’t slowed down at all. I looked at Kevin who was making a call on his phone. My head was swimming a bit and I couldn’t make out what he was saying. I think Ryan took the towel out of my hand and replaced it with something he pulled out of his backpack. Another towel which was quickly bloody. Ryan took over, putting more pressure on my face. Suddenly dizzy, I put my head back on the seat and closed my eyes.
It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes before I heard sirens. An ambulance pulled up next to us, and two EMT’s jumped out with first aid equipment. They got into the backseat on either side of me after Ryan got out to make room for them.
The older of the pair asked, “What happened, Cara? Can you remember?”
“I’m not sure. Something hard hit me in the face and then I realized I was bleeding.”
“Are you feeling dizzy, sick to your stomach?”
“Just a little dizzy.”
The younger man had been cleaning off my forehead and the side of my head, finally spraying something medicinal on it and strapping something tight over the spot that had been bleeding so much.
He smiled. “You have a long cut just above your eye, but it’s not deep and won’t need stitches. Head wounds always bleed a lot; that’s normal. You should see your doctor to have the dressing changed. If it starts bleeding again, please have someone take you to the emergency room in Greenville. The good news is it missed your eye.”
I thanked the two men and they climbed out of the Jeep, quickly replaced by Chief O’Donnell. I saw Mr. Weiss standing outside the car talking to Patrick.
The Chief asked, “How do you feel?”
“Like I got hit in the face with a rock.”
“You did. But it missed your eye, and the param
edic said it won’t leave much of a scar. Did you see where the rock came from?”
“No. But Patrick must have because he took off into the woods chasing somebody.”
“I’ll be speaking to Patrick next. I was on my way to your house to see your mother. Maybe I should wait a day or two. Seeing you bandaged up like this will upset her, and I really don’t want to make things worse.”
I nodded. A delay was probably a good idea. When I looked up, Mr. Weiss was looking in the window at me as though he wanted to talk to me.
The Chief got out of the Jeep, telling me to call him immediately if I needed anything.
Mr. Weiss leaned in the window, asking how I felt. I assured him I would survive and tried to give him a smile. He looked worried.
“I was just speaking with Patrick, one of your bodyguards. He saw the rock fly out of the woods and tried to run down the person who threw it. He didn’t manage to catch the boy; he jumped into a car a block from here and took off. But Patrick saw him clearly.” He sighed. “You can probably guess who it was.”
I nodded, wishing I hadn’t when my head began to ache. “It had to be Ed Wilson. He hates me. I don’t understand why. He doesn’t even know me.”
“Don’t worry about Ed Wilson, Cara. I’ll take care of him. He won’t be coming back to school, and I’m recommending his parents get professional help for the boy.”
“Okay. Thanks, Mr. Weiss.”
Kevin got behind the steering wheel and looked back at me. “Ready to go home?”
“Yeah. I need some aspirin and a nap.”
Patrick got into the front seat with Kevin, and Ryan climbed into the backseat next to me. “Feeling any better, lass?”
“I think better means there’s no blood running down my face, but my head hurts and I’m tired. If no one else needs to talk to me, I want to go home.”
Kevin started the car and pulled away from the curb. “We have a police escort again. The Chief is right behind us.”
That was reassuring. I closed my eyes and tried to tune out the world.
Someone must have contacted my father because he was standing on the front porch when we pulled up, his arms crossed over his chest, his face like stone. I sighed.
Ryan sprang out of the Jeep and reached in to help me out. I had a feeling he was the one who’d sent my dad a message, which had obviously upset my father more than I thought a cut over the eye warranted.
My father ran down the steps to me and wrapped me up in his arms for a few seconds. I didn’t smell the forest on him as strongly as usual, the price of spending most of his time in the human world, I guessed.
“Cara, are you all right? How does your head feel? Was it one of Gaynes’ hired men who did this?”
I was really tired so I only made it to the porch steps before I had to sit down, Chief O’Donnell not far behind me. My father sat down next to me, wrapping my hand up in one of his.
“Dad, you can relax. I’ll be okay. It’s not a deep cut and doesn’t even need stitches. I just have a nasty headache.”
“We know who threw the rock, Brian,” the Chief said. “It wasn’t one of Gaynes’ thugs. It was the same boy who beat Sean with a baseball bat last night and put him in the hospital. Apparently, he thinks that you and your family are solely responsible for all the tragedies that have taken place in Thornewood for the past few weeks. Your bodyguards protected Cara from him yesterday, but he had two more boys with him when he went after Sean. Don’t worry; we’ll pick them up today. Gabe put two of them on the ground before he was knocked out.”
My father helped me stand. “Come on inside, sweetheart. Kathleen is still here and she can take a look at your wound.” He turned to the Chief. “Thank you for following them home. It might be a good idea to wait a day or two to talk to Alicia.”
The Chief nodded. “That was my thinking too. Cara, I hope you’ll feel better tomorrow. You won’t have to worry about Ed Wilson anymore.”
He walked back to his car and drove off. Kevin and Patrick still stood by the Jeep.
“You guys should go on home. I’ll probably see you tomorrow.”
Kevin came over to me and gave me a gentle hug. “Call me in the morning if you decide to stay home. But I hope you’ll be feeling a lot better tomorrow.” He dropped a kiss on my head and got back in his Jeep. Patrick waved as they drove around the corner.
My father took my hand and led me into the house where Mom waited just inside the door, a frown on her face.
She put one arm around me and led me into the kitchen where Kathleen was waiting. “Looks like I picked the right day to visit, Cara dear. I brought my bag with me. Let me take a look at the cut on your head.”
“Mom, could I have some aspirin.”
“Of course, dear.” She got up and went to the pantry, bringing a bottle of aspirin back with her. She put a glass of water and two aspirin in front of me, and I swallowed the pills down quickly. My head really hurt.
Kathleen lifted the bandage gently and took a look at my cut. “Thankfully, it’s not deep, dear. I know the paramedics cleaned it thoroughly, so I’ll just put an herbal mixture on it and fasten the bandage down again. These herbs will prevent you from scarring. In a month, there won’t even be a mark on your pretty face. The herbs should prevent any further bleeding too.”
She rummaged in her large bag for the supplies she needed and mixed up several herbs and some kind of oil into a paste. She spread the paste over my cut and taped the bandage down. “Leave it alone for at least twenty-four hours, dear. I’ll come back to check it tomorrow afternoon.” She smiled. “It will heal beautifully. And these herbs may help you sleep too.”
She was right. The pleasant smelling herbs were making me drowsy. “Thank you. I’m glad you were here today.”
I stood up, wobbling a little, and my father scooped me up, which was totally unnecessary, and carried me upstairs, setting me on my bed. He pulled off my boots, looking a little startled when my knives fell on the floor. He shook his head. “You have no idea how much I wish they weren’t necessary, sweetheart.”
“I know. It’s okay.” The pillow felt good against my throbbing head and my eyes closed.
It was dark outside when I woke up. My headache wasn’t completely gone, but it wasn’t as bad. I put my hand on the bandage covering my forehead. I wondered if the throbbing was a sign of healing. I’d ask Kathleen when I saw her.
I got out of bed and changed into sweatpants and an old t-shirt. My stomach was growling. I went downstairs, hoping to find leftovers from dinner. Instead, I found my parents sitting at the table with Adam.
“What’s going on? I came down to look for leftovers.”
“We just had soup and sandwiches, dear,” Mom said. “Can I make you a sandwich?”
“That sounds good. Did you make tea?”
She smiled. “That’s what we all needed tonight. The teapot’s full. Help yourself while I make you a grilled cheese.”
Dad asked, “Feeling better after your nap?”
“The headache isn’t as bad now.” I poured myself a cup of tea and looked up into Adam’s dark blue eyes. He’d been watching me carefully since I came downstairs. “Did you come over to check on me, Adam?”
He nodded. “Of course. I heard you had another head injury. I was worried.”
I tried to smile, but even that hurt my head. “I’m okay. Guess I have a hard head.”
My father arched one eyebrow and said, “I told him you would be fine, but he had to see for himself.” Adam’s face reddened slightly, but he winked at me, his eyes warm.
“Well, I’m glad you’re here. I need to complain to someone. This week has really sucked.”
He chuckled as I ate my sandwich and drank some tea. “I owe Rowenna a song, so is it okay if I go out on the porch?” My father nodded, smiling.
Adam stood. “I’ll keep you company.”
We took our tea outside and sat down. “I can feel rain coming. It’ll probably start later tonight.” Adam looked
over at me. “I think I’ll stay in camp tonight, just in case it turns into a heavy storm.”
I reached over and put my hand on his. “Thanks, Adam.” He nodded.
Leaning back comfortably in my deck chair, I began to sing the dragon’s song.
Soon we felt Rowenna’s magic envelop us and I heard her wings overhead.
Her eyesight must have been phenomenal because her rusty voice asked, What’s wrong with your head? What is that white patch?
“I got hit in the face with a rock today, but it’s not bad. Please don’t worry.”
Her voice got even deeper as she asked, Who hit your face with a rock?
“It was a troubled boy from school. He’s being taken out of school and I don’t think he’ll be causing any more trouble.”
I can stop him for you.
She’d probably like to turn him into a torch. “Uh, no, that won’t be necessary. The police will see that he gets the help he needs. He has some serious problems. I have no desire to hurt him.”
If that’s what you want, Cara. How is Alicia? Where is she?
I heard my mother’s voice from the doorway. “I’m fine, Rowenna. You helped me a great deal last night. I’ll always be grateful. I feel well now. I can’t thank you enough, my friend.”
I will always help when you or Cara need me, Alicia.
I could hear the air move as her huge wings lifted her higher into the night sky, and the magic surrounding us slowly dissipated. I hummed her song again.
Thank you, Cara.
When we finished our tea, Adam stood. “I’ll go back to camp now, but if the rain turns into a bad storm, I’ll come back. Sleep well.”
He walked down the steps and jogged through the yard. He disappeared into the darkness. I couldn’t even see him as far as the tree line. Knowing he was close gave me a warm, protected feeling.
I said good night to my parents and went back to my room. It was earlier than I normally went to bed, but I was hoping I could go to school in the morning. Before I turned out the light, I called Sean’s house and his dad answered the phone.
